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Since October 7, 2026, Google’s SynthID Detector has been open to anyone worldwide in English. It checks whether an image, video, or audio file carries a supported SynthID watermark, meaning the file was made or edited with AI from Google or from a partner that uses the same watermark. It is not a general detector of AI-generated media, and a result does not show whether anything in the file is true.
What changed on October 7, 2026
Google DeepMind’s October 7, 2026 announcement says the SynthID Detector, which had previously been tested with journalists and media professionals, is now available to everyone globally in English. People can use it to check whether an image, video, or audio file was made with AI from Google or from named partners OpenAI, NVIDIA, and Kakao. Apple is described in the same announcement as coming soon.
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The announcement also says verification features in Search, Gemini, and Chrome together handle more than one million requests a day. That figure is Google’s own and covers all three products, not the standalone portal alone.
The change builds on Google’s May 19, 2026 post, which described a wider transparency effort: SynthID verification inside Gemini, expansion of verification into Search and Chrome, support for C2PA Content Credentials, and a new Cloud AI Content Detection API for organizations. These pieces belong to one effort, but they use different methods and have different access rules, so they should be evaluated separately.
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Google DeepMind’s Pushmeet Kohli, VP, Science and Strategic Initiatives, framed the goal this way: “As AI tools become better and easier to use, having clear context about the content you encounter online helps me make informed decisions about what to trust.”
Four checks, four different questions
Readers often hear “AI detector” and assume one tool answers every question. Google now offers four distinct mechanisms, and each answers something different.
| Check | What it looks for | Media it accepts | Access | What a result tells you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SynthID Detector (standalone portal) | Supported SynthID watermarks from Google and partners | Image, video, audio | Public, global, English; from October 7, 2026 | Whether a supported watermark was found |
| Gemini verification | SynthID watermarks from Google AI tools | Image, video, audio, within the limits below | Gemini Apps; sign-in required; personal or qualified Workspace account | Whether Google AI watermarking was found |
| Content Credentials | C2PA-based origin and edit-history records | AI and non-AI media that carry credentials | Present only when the file includes credentials | Recorded origin and edits, including whether AI was involved |
| Cloud AI Content Detection API | Pixel-level artifacts, noise patterns, and spectral anomalies | JPEG, PNG, WebP images | Private Preview on Google Cloud | A probabilistic estimate of AI generation |
The standalone SynthID Detector
The portal checks for SynthID watermarks. The watermark is embedded in the content when it is generated, so the check looks for that embedded signal rather than judging how the image looks. Google’s October 7 announcement lists the watermark sources as Google, OpenAI, NVIDIA, and Kakao, with Apple described as coming soon. Partner support is a question of which watermarks the portal can read, so a file made by a tool outside that list will return no supported signal even if it is AI-generated.
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Gemini verification
Gemini uses SynthID checks for content made with Google AI tools. Google’s Gemini Apps Help page says Gemini currently recognizes content created by Google AI tools, even though other companies have started adopting SynthID. That means a Gemini check covers a narrower set of watermarks than the standalone portal.
Requirements and limits
- You must be signed in, with a personal Google account or a qualified Workspace account.
- Gemini accepts one file at a time, at 100 MB or less.
- Videos must be under 90 seconds; audio must be under one hour.
The help page gives approximate quotas that apply within a rolling 24-hour period:
| Media type | Approximate checks per rolling 24 hours | Total duration cap per rolling 24 hours |
|---|---|---|
| Image | 10 | Not applicable |
| Video | 10 | Up to 5 minutes total |
| Audio | 10 | Up to 3 hours total |
These quotas belong to Gemini Apps and are not documented as limits on the standalone portal.
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Google’s help page suggests asking one of three questions when you run a check: “Was this image/video/audio created or edited by Google AI?”, “Is this AI-generated?”, or “Is this a real video?” The first matches what the check can answer. The other two ask for a judgment the watermark check cannot make, so a result on those questions should be read with caution.
Content Credentials
Content Credentials are a separate system based on the C2PA standard. They record where a file came from and how it was edited, and they can indicate whether AI was involved when compatible credentials are present. Unlike SynthID, which is a watermark embedded in the pixels or audio, Content Credentials are metadata attached to the file. That difference matters: metadata can be stripped when a file is re-saved or shared through some platforms, and its absence proves nothing by itself.
Google’s help page is explicit that Content Credentials do not, by themselves, establish that a file is definitely AI-generated. They supply context. Treat them as a record of history, not a classification.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Google Cloud AI Content Detection API
The Cloud API is for organizations. It is in Private Preview, and Google Cloud’s API documentation, last updated October 7, 2026, describes its method and limits. It analyzes pixel-level artifacts, noise patterns, and spectral anomalies in JPEG, PNG, and WebP images. It does not read C2PA metadata, so it cannot tell you what a credential says.
The output is a probabilistic estimate. The documentation says it can produce false positives and false negatives. According to the current docs, the service does not retain processed images. Google advises that the API should be supplementary evidence and should not be the sole basis for takedowns or sanctions.
Reading the results
A positive SynthID result
A positive result is a supported provenance signal. For Gemini, it means all or part of the file may have been created or edited by Google AI. It does not say whether the claim the file is attached to is accurate, whether the scene was staged, or whether the content is misleading.
A negative result
A negative result does not prove a file is human-made. The watermark may be absent, may belong to a system the tool does not read, or may have been degraded. Google says watermarks usually survive resizing, recoloring, and compression, but repeated alterations can make them undetectable. Simple or abstract images may not contain enough detail to carry a watermark, and a minor edit may be too small to leave a detectable signal.
Combining signals
For any decision that matters, pair the provenance check with the file’s source and context: where it first appeared, who posted it, whether the original is available, and whether the claim can be checked independently. Use Content Credentials as a history record, the watermark result as one signal, and the Cloud API estimate, if you have access, as supporting evidence only.
Usage figures in Google’s announcements
- More than 180 billion images and videos, and 240,000 years of audio content, are reported in Google’s October 7, 2026 announcement as the scale of content the company’s systems have handled.
- More than one million requests a day across verification features in Search, Gemini, and Chrome, per the same announcement.
- 50 million uses of Gemini image, video, and audio verification, reported in Google’s May 19, 2026 post. This is a cumulative total, not a daily figure, and it covers Gemini only.
These numbers describe Google’s own usage and do not measure how accurately any check identifies AI content.
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